1949 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe De Ville

The first car to bear the name was the 1949 Coupe de Ville, a prestige trim level of the Series 62 luxury coupe.

Along with the Buick Roadmaster Riviera, and the Oldsmobile 98 Holiday, it was among the first pillarless hardtop coupes ever produced. At $3,496 ($32,773 today) it was only a dollar less than the Series 62 convertible, and like the convertible, it came with power windows standard. It was luxuriously trimmed, with leather upholstery and chrome ‘bows’ in the headliner to simulate the ribs of a convertible top.

The name “De Ville” is from the French, de la ville meaning, “of the town”. In French coach building parlance, a coupé de ville, from the French couper (to cut) i.e. shorten, was a short four-wheeled closed carriage with an inside seat for two and an outside seat for the driver and this smaller vehicle was intended for use in the town or city (de ville). An (unshortened) limousine or (in the US) town car has a division between the passenger and driver compartments and if the driver’s seat is outside it may be called a sedanca de ville or town car.